Saturday Night Live October 25th, 2008

Saturday Night Live, October 25th, 2008
Host: Jon Hamm
Musical Guest: Coldplay

I found this to be the least consistent episode since this season's premier.

Joe Biden and John Murtha on the stump.
The weakest of all the political sketches they've done so far this year. It felt like they used up all their good ideas on this week's Weekend Update Thursday. Nothing said in this sketch is as crazy as what was said by the real people involved and not enough of a twist was added. The whole thing just felt awkward.

No Commercial Parody.
So I'm complaining about it.

Sex Offender for Halloween.
Will Forte tries out a new character, what? It's surprising how little it takes for Will Forte to come across as creepy. I'm not sure why the sex offender had a catch phrase, but for the most part the sketch had some good laughs.

Andy Samberg as a Rasta guy.
It was definitely something. I don't know if it was funny…but it was definitely something. On a personal note, Andy Samberg looked like my hippie cousin Dan. So extra points on that personal note.

Mad Men 2/A-holes Crossover.
I was nervous at first because I still haven't watched Mad Men. Then I was nervous because the return of the two A-hole characters did nothing for me. I certainly enjoyed their first two appearances but now it feels like they're stretching the schtick way too thin.

Obama Variety Hour.
It was nice to see Maya Rudolf back on the show, even if her impersonation of Michelle Obama didn't seem that accurate or funny. Some cute moments like Bill Clinton singing "Don't You Forget About Me" and Reverend Wright and Bill Ayers performing together. Also a better use of Jason Sudekis as Joe Biden with the foot in mouth gag.

Another Mad Men parody.
This sketch definitely worked better, even without any knowledge of the show. "Blow people away any time you say anything" is great advice.

Coldplay song 1.
Did Chris Martin always dance around like the guy from Midnight Oil? Their current rock outfits with mismatched armbands and toast patches look like fashion school rejects. Especially since they follow in the footsteps of My Chemical Romance's marching band jackets (a la Sgt. Pepper) which made more sense for them, since their album was called the Black Parade.

Weekend Update.
Seth Meyers hosts alone because Amy Poehler is having her baby. Congrats! I'm impressed she made it this far into the season. I wonder if there's time to make a Robo-call costume for Halloween? Bill Hader does a great Ralph Nader, and sock puppets are always comedy gold. My admiration for Fred Armisen's Nicolas Fehn political comedian continues to grow. I can't believe he can still get mileage out of saying so much nothing time after time.
Kenan can really sing! A surprisingly sincere end note as he and Maya Rudolf sing a sweet love song to Amy and her baby. Very appropriate since Maya herself was pregnant on the show for quite a while before finally taking a leave.

Vincent Price Halloween Special.
A friend of mine pointed out how little Bill Hader's impersonation actually sounds like Vincent Price, so I spent most of the sketch focusing on it and eventually agreeing it's too nasal. And yet, I want to like this re-occurring sketch for some reason…even though it doesn't do much for me.

Jon Hamm's John Ham.
Inspired. Further proof that SNL's best bits are often further into the show.

Coldplay song 2.
I liked their second song better.

Finger in Butts.
Um. Sure.

Coldplay song 3.
It's been a long time since a band has gotten to play a 3rd song. I guess Coldplay is the biggest band that's been on the show for a while? "Yellow" still holds up as one of their better songs. Barack Obama!

CLIP: